Lt. Job Lane Elementary

Bedford, USA

Over the past year, in conjunction with a parent volunteer and the support of our PTO, Lane School has developed a display that allows students to explore, interact with, and engage in hands-on, minds-on exploratory learning.
On any given day, especially in the morning and afternoon, students can observe our rotating displays of live animals and plants, along with our wide variety of other rotating artifacts! The rotations of artifacts are community member driven and include input and support from parents, teachers, and other community-based members. The display fosters curiosity and scientific thinking and leads to profound discussions among peers and adults. Our addition has been a wonderful expansion to our expansive outdoor garden area which also promotes inquiry-based thinking and exploration of a wide variety of phenomena. Our outdoor learning area features four raised garden beds that can be found at the base of a grape arbor.

In the Fall our grapes are harvested and turned into jelly as part of our student-centered learning program. At the base of the arbor, the beds pop in the spring with a variety of bulb-based flowers and then again throughout the Summer and Fall with a variety of other flowers and fruit/vegetables. Just across the way, there are also a dozen other raised flower beds that are used in the spring, by the students, to plant a wide variety of season vegetable seeds. From year to year, the variety of vegetables varies. Students plant, help care for and harvest the beds throughout the summer and Fall seasons. Just beyond the grape arbor is a series of three apple trees. Our students get to see the apples go from flower to fruit. The Fall season brings us apples which are served in our cafeteria, as well as for other student-centered cooking activities. The applesauce is a big hit just like the homemade pickles are!